For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

[RacerX]

or
"How do I get the xxx sound?"

From a MF board
Why you can't get that sound

[RacerX]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

That is similar to what NewC and others have said on the old board:
"What amp does Marty use?
I'm assuming the original post is an effort to get some amp info to save time/money/hassle in achieving the "Marty sound" in his own setup....Let me save you the headache. I have been a Cacophony addict since 1987 and have spent countless hours researching, playing, listening and studying everything they have ever done, from unravelling most all of their complex tunes and getting an idea how they come up with some of the whacked harmonies, 12 tone row ideas etc etc. to their tone/gear and everything in between. Lately I'm into (hopelessly addicted to) getting a similar Marty/Jason sound as they had in the old Cacophony/Dragon's Kiss/ Perpetual Burn days...
I'm convinced that without expert producers/studio equipment you simply will not get all that close to what you hear no matter what similar gear you buy.
As for amps,
You read the interviews with Jason or Marty & they ALWAYS mention the Marshalls, it's Marshall, Marshall, Marshall (any Brady Bunch fans out there get that?) anyways, everything I've seen from taped footage of them is Marshall.
They used an assload of different amps in the studio(producers will supply a ton of different Heads effects etc), but in general a good 80's- early 90's Marshall JCM900 model 4100 High gain dual reverb with a Boss sd-1 should do the trick for his basic tone. Now you just need a Carvin Guitar with the same P/U's they had! As for their Carvin deal, I've never actually seen them often play one except on Becker's AIM clinic (and I couldn't really see the amp but he said "I'm actually playing Marshalls now", so I assume he was on the Carvin just for that clinic) he used an ADA mp-1 with it and even gave his settings.
I think Marty's tone on Dragon's kiss and Becker's Perpetual Burn is their best yet....and those tones were Marshall 100 watters with the trusty sd-1 pedal. These sounded heavier than anything they've done to date.
Becker said in a Guitar World interview that the new JCM900 (this was in 1991) sounded better than his JCM800's and was totally stock.

I think most of the trouble with getting a sound you hear on an album (which is what I assume the intent of the original post is aiming at) is

1) their sound is ultra slickly polished with big name/money studio production experts/engineering using the studio's very best gear, ie. $10,000 Lexicon reverb units etc. etc.
2) they are in stereo
3) they have multiple guitar parts and layering
4) get the right pickups!! they are drastically different
5) This is probably the single biggest secret in getting a killer sound like that....VOLUME!!! they don't play on 2 to get those crunchy tones!!!
6) producers and engineers use clever studio trickery on certain things that Marty and Becker themselves can't even reproduce live.

a majority of the dissapointment in trying to recreate an album's TONE is simply from the producer's and studio's bag of tricks, not your playing, so you'll NEVER get a sound totally like on the Marty or Becker albums. You ever notice how when playing live, even Marty/Becker's sound (NOT their playing!!!!!) is pretty crappy compared to the album stuff? Like at Beckers clinic or Marty playing on a couple clips from the internet just through a basic setup. They all of a sudden sounded much more human and less godlike. Which says something about the importance of studio engineers and producer trickery.
Bottom line, don't worry too much about what amps/gear they use, even if you had the exact same setup and played just like them, you won't get that slick sound anyways!! "

Lina are you getting this?
[img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[777SteveVai777]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

Less god-like? They're playing didn't change, just their sound. I like Becker's sound during that AIM clinic, what amp was he using?

[StuTDavis]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

Definitely agree with a lot of that...

I've been chasing the "album tone" as my ears hear it from Anthrax for years. Everybody hears something different, and chances are no one piece of gear is going to do the trick for what you want to replicate. I'm closer than I have ever been to my tone goal, and currently up to TEN pieces of gear between rack gear and pedals. Some guys could plug straight into a head and cab and hear what they think is the same sound that I'm looking for. The ultimate goal is to find exactly what sounds closest to what YOU hear. And, along the way, it helps to keep a close analytical ear on what you hear and what it lacks vs. what you want, and really try to understand what you're missing to figure out how to get "there".

[JacksonShredder]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

Jason also used the Carvin X100b head

but most of the time it was Marshall Jcm800 2204's

but if you want to know what he realy used i guess i could call him and ask his dad to ask him
but that won't be till after the holidays

he also used Digitech rack effects

[ November 28, 2002, 05:07 AM: Message edited by: JacksonShredder ]

[OklaStrat]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

I wouldn't worry about chasing someone's tone that relentlessly anyways.... find something you like, and stick with it. If it sounds like a famous dude's tone, who cares?

Pete
btw, I know, I've pulled some different guy's sounds off my Pod XT, but that was more for 'hey, check out how freaky this thing is" more so than "wow, that's my new sound-the '78 van halen I tone"

[horns666]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

[img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] @ Pete. By the time I nailed that Brown sound I didn't want it anymore , it's just way too friggin Brown. My sound is a little more Mauve

Bill Z Brown..I mean Mauve

[ November 29, 2002, 01:05 PM: Message edited by: horns666 ]

[toejam]

Re: For those who ask "What amp do xxx use?"

How do I get the RonRacerX sound?!? Do I just usse a Rhoads or will my Kelly do? Or should I just use something different altogether?!? [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]